Two dozen firefighters on Wednesday battled a blaze in Mount Plymouth that started on an acre off Sackamaxon Drive, a densely populated area, and quickly spread to 30 to 40 acres. The Florida Forest Service and Orange County Fire Rescue also responded to the fire, which according to neighbors was burning on a dried-up lake bed. Three homes were temporarily evacuated.

On the second front, about 200 acres of marsh and swamp area burned at Baptist Island Road and County Road 33, six miles west ofFlorida's Turnpike. Florida Forest Service spokesman Don Ruths said five homes were temporarily evacuated.

It was unclear what started either fire, but the Mount Plymouth fire likely spread because of winds in the area earlier in the day, Dickerson said. Light afternoon showers helped contained the fire more quickly, he said.

Lake County sheriff's Lt. John Herrell said a black bear was hurt in the Mount Plymouth area. He learned of the incident after resident Sean Antonio in the evacuated area on Sandwich Place shot video of the bear limping along in his front yard, on what appeared to scorched paws.

After crawling through the woods in search of a black bear, biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ceased looking for fear of contributing further to the bear's wounds by having it run away.

"The best thing for this bear, we feel right now, is to go back into the woods, find some thick cover, and just hunker down," Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Joy Hill said. "They are very, very tough animals. If he can just do that, lick his wounds and let nature take his course, hopefully."

The animal was probably hibernating when disturbed by the fire and is now looking for a new place to rest, Hill said. Anyone who catches sight of the bear can call the Fish and Wildlife alert number, 1-888-404-3922.